why am i a wuss on squats?

[trinitymuscle]

i've been lifting for just over 2 years now. for some reason i really suck on squats. and i've probably averaged 2 squat days a month over the 2 years. so i haven't been neglecting them. i feel i'm pretty strong on leg press compared to my squating ability. my last few leg days i did a 45 and a 35 on each side for smythe squats for i think 9 reps. log book is in the car. and on leg press day i did 6 45's on each side for 5 reps. i would like to add i go all the way down on my squats though. and no i don't mean like 4 inches i mean till i can't go down anymore. does anyone have any thoughts to why i squat like a girl scout or what i can do to improve it. on squats day my work sets are 8 then 4 then a 20 repper. thanks guys.

[The Munster]

What do your warmups look like? I'm wondering if you are using too much energy during your warmups...or...if you are not warmping up enough.

Also, whey the 8 & 4 & 20? Why all 3 I mean. IMO you should go for a heavy 4-8 & a 20-repper. 2 sets. Not 3.

[In-Human]

i've been lifting for just over 2 years now. for some reason i really suck on squats. and i've probably averaged 2 squat days a month over the 2 years. so i haven't been neglecting them. i feel i'm pretty strong on leg press compared to my squating ability. my last few leg days i did a 45 and a 35 on each side for smythe squats for i think 9 reps. log book is in the car. and on leg press day i did 6 45's on each side for 5 reps. i would like to add i go all the way down on my squats though. and no i don't mean like 4 inches i mean till i can't go down anymore. does anyone have any thoughts to why i squat like a girl scout or what i can do to improve it. on squats day my work sets are 8 then 4 then a 20 repper. thanks guys.

Ok so let me get this straight, for legs were you only getting 2 Squat days a month and thats it?, and who really cares how much weight you are using, did you give it all you had, was your intensity high, its just a number and only looks good in the book, as long as you progress in weight and or reps, the weight will come, trust me...

[trinitymuscle]

i was saying that i got atleast 2 days a month of squats. so people would know that it wasnt like i did squats once every few months and couldn't understand why i wasn't squating much. my warm up sets are something like this. bar x12, 10 on each side x10, 15 each side times 10, 25 each side x8, 45 each side x 6 then the threes real sets i was doing. now i'll only do two real sets.

[The Munster]

Personally I think you are starting out to light on your warmups.

Try bar +25's x 10
bar + 35's x 8
bar + 45's x 4-6
then your 2 worksets

And, like IH said, just so long as you are progressing, even if the increments are small it will add up over time. Let's say your heavy workset weights go up 5-10 lbs every time you squat. You'll be squatting 120-240 lbs more in a year.

[trinitymuscle]

thanks i'll try that out. and i am a little worried about weight. i'm never going to get good big legs if i can't ever squat 300lbs.

[The Munster]

thanks i'll try that out. and i am a little worried about weight. i'm never going to get good big legs if i can't ever squat 300lbs.

Like I said, though, look at it long term.

Your original post said you squatted 205 for 9 and that you squat about 2 times per month. So if you add 5 lbs every time you squat, that's a 10 increase each month. That's 120 lbs in a year.

205 + 120 = 325.

[In-Human]

i was saying that i got atleast 2 days a month of squats. so people would know that it wasnt like i did squats once every few months and couldn't understand why i wasn't squating much. my warm up sets are something like this. bar x12, 10 on each side x10, 15 each side times 10, 25 each side x8, 45 each side x 6 then the threes real sets i was doing. now i'll only do two real sets.

Ok but what I was asking, did you do any other leg work in that month or only two days of Squats.

How much do you weigh.

And no the bottom line is not the amount you lift, you do what your body can handle and as time goes on you will increase your weights, try to get at least two days a week of leg training...

[The Munster]

Ok but what I was asking, did you do any other leg work in that month or only two days of Squats.

How much do you weigh.

And no the bottom line is not the amount you lift, you do what your body can handle and as time goes on you will increase your weights, try to get at least two days a week of leg training...

IH, he mentioned his leg press work in his original post so I am assuming he's getting at least 4 leg workouts per month (2 squats and 2 leg presses--1 leg workout per week). I agree with you, though, that 6-8 per month would be better.

[trinitymuscle]

i've always gotten 4 workouts a month of legs. and i weigh about 200lbs right now.

[The Munster]

So you're hitting each bodypart once per week? Is that right?

Can you go ahead and lay out your split and schedule? Some pointers in that area might help things too.

[trinitymuscle]

i used to hit everything once a week. now i started dc about 3 weeks ago or so. hopefully that will bring my legs up.

[The Munster]

Yep. That's going to help significantly. That'll have you hitting everything 6 times in a 4 week period (assuming you are doing the standard M-W-F split).

[hachat11]

In my experience, squatting is very mental. You might be able to do a decent amount on leg press (like you said) but putting a lot of weight on a bar and squatting it can get to you. I know from experience. You just have to put on the weight and squat it, even though it may seem heavy and your mind is telling you that you can't get it. Most of the time, you'll be able to do it. That's still something i fight with and I'm by no means the strongest guy ever. Right now, I'm squatting 275 for my set of 6

[In-Human]

In my experience, squatting is very mental. You might be able to do a decent amount on leg press (like you said) but putting a lot of weight on a bar and squatting it can get to you. I know from experience. You just have to put on the weight and squat it, even though it may seem heavy and your mind is telling you that you can't get it. Most of the time, you'll be able to do it. That's still something i fight with and I'm by no means the strongest guy ever. Right now, I'm squatting 275 for my set of 6

Its a leverage point and you will always be able to push 3 times as much weight on the Sled then you do with Sqauts...